Chinese scientists find a 2,000-year-old first programmable mechanism

A 2,000-year-old programmable weaving loom has been discovered in China, 3dnews.ru reports. The find could replace the Antikythera mechanism, previously considered the oldest. The loom, unearthed in 2012 during metro construction in Chengdu, is significant as a programmable mechanism.

The mechanism shows features resembling the structure of punched cards and algorithmic logic. This may point to core principles of early, previously unidentified programming methods that emerged much earlier than in Europe.

Such a mechanism sparked cultural rivalry between East and West and led to the loom being recognized as the first programmable mechanism dating back 2,000 years.